Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
Bulldogs Blackout Tigers, 66-64
12/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2008
STOCKTON, Calif. - Senior guard Dwight O'Neil scored the game-winning fall-away jumper off an inbounds pass from freshman point guard Bryce Cartwright with 0.9 seconds left in the game to lift the Bulldogs to a 66-64 victory over the Pacific Tigers on Saturday night in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
"This is a good win for the team because we got multiple stops and had to grind it out," head coach Steve Cleveland said.
Freshman guard Paul George led Fresno State (3-4) with a game-high 23 points, shooting 9 of 12 from the field including all five Bulldog three-pointers (a career-high) while also adding six rebounds on the night. Reserve freshman guard Mychal Ladd sparked the Bulldogs from the bench by draining a career-high 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds while hitting 8 of 10 from the field.
Pacific started the scoring as the Tigers sophomore center Sam Willard took an offensive rebound and banked in a two-pointer from under the basket to give Pacific a 2-0 lead.
Fresno State responded with a 9-0 run as George hit a three-pointer from the right wing and dunked off an alley-oop pass from Cartwright for a 9-2 Bulldog advantage. George scored eight of his 23 points in the first five minutes of the game.
The Tigers battled back and the two schools traded points after reserve Tiger guard Lavar Neufield hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 14 with 13:36 left in the first half until Pacific extended their lead to four (26-22) with 6:23 remaining in the opening session on a Casey Neimeier lay-up.
The `Dogs trailed 35-32 at the break, with their play highlighted by steady and strong rebounding from the bench as Ladd brought down four rebounds and Brian Seals grabbed three combined with efficient shot execution.
"I could see in Mychal's eyes that he wasn't going to be denied," Cleveland said of Ladd's breakout night. "He has a feel around the basket and is a great offensive rebounder.
In the first half, George led the Bulldogs as recorded five for five from the field, including two of two from beyond the three-point line while tallying 12 points and four rebounds.
Fresno State opened the second half with a pair of baskets by junior forward Sylvester Seay, a fadeaway jumper and a lay-up off a steal as the `Dogs retook the lead 36-35 as part of an 8-0 run with 19 minutes left in the second half.
Pacific led by as many as eight (46-38) before two freshman guards (George and Ladd) connected on back-to-back shots to cut the deficit to 46-43.
By continuing to battle for the rest of the half, the Bulldogs kept themselves in the game and eventually turned to their freshman sensation, George, to drill a three-pointer from the left corner and earn back the lead, 62-60 with 3:36 to play.
The Tigers evened the tilt after Tiger forward Bryan LeDuc hit a pair of free throws with 1:12 left in the game. Sophomore Bulldog forward Nedeljko Golubovic was fouled seven seconds later and connected on both of his free throws to put Fresno State up by two.
Pacific refused to go away and junior guard Joe Ford drove to the basket and tied the game on a layup, 64-64, with 23 seconds to go.
The `Dogs put the ball in O'Neil's hand and he dished it to Cartwright, who ran down the clock and tried to get the ball back to O'Neil, but his pass was deflected out of bounds by Pacific. Cleveland immediately called a timeout with three seconds to play. He drew up an inbounds play he used to run in high school and had never run in a game with Fresno State.
Cartwright spotted O'Neil under the basket and zipped the inbounds pass to the lone senior on the roster, who banked in the game-winner with less than a second to go and gave Fresno State their first road win of the year.
Pacific falls to 3-3. Willard led the Tigers with a career-high 14 points and six rebounds while Chad Troller added 12 points and Ford finished with 10. The game had been classified as a "Blackout" game, where the Tigers wore black jerseys and asked their crowd to wear black.
The Bulldogs shot 56.3% from the field on the game, their highest of the season, while they limited the Tigers to shooting 42.4% and outrebounded Pacific 29-28.
The `Dogs return home for a four game homestand that starts Wednesday when Cal State Bakersfield visits Fresno for a non-conference contest that marks Cleveland's 100th game at the helm of the Bulldogs.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs host Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday, December 10 at 7 p. m. in the Save Mart Center. It's Working Wednesday and fans can enter to win via their business cards for prizes or free tickets to future games. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
